Missing
by HOUSEocdfan
Summary: Just a short one shot.  Who or What is missing? How come Rachel knows more about House than Cuddy and will Cuddy ever really open her eyes.  This set sometime during season 7...


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own House or any other character in this story I just borrowed them and then gave them back **

**A/N – **_See if you can find whats missing. If you don't see it, the answer is at the bottom of the page. But let me know if you find the answer before you read it lol_

"Why is he pacing up and down the corridor " asked Masters

"Because his leg is obviously hurting more today" replied Taub

"Why doesn't he just take some stronger pain meds – like vicodin instead of ibuprofen the keeps taking" said Masters

"You really don't have a clue do you Masters, do you not talk to anyone in this hospital" said Chase.

"What?" said Masters looking between each one of the group.

"House had a problem with vidocin – he's an addict, but he's been clean for 18 months – he only takes ibuprofen now, which is obviously not working today" said Foreman.

"I-I didn't know, I'm sorry" said Masters

House continued to pace outside in the corridor, luckily no-one was around as it was so late and at least Cuddy had gone home too. He took some more ibuprofen - 6 in 2hrs, nothing was helping tonight. God he needed this to stop – he couldn't think straight, his patient was shutting down and he had no idea why, he didn't want to lose another patient, he lost one last week even though he had been lockied in a room with him he still hadn't saved him. He had told Cuddy that she made him a crappy doctor because she made him happy, now he was a crappy doctor because he couldn't control his pain. When would he get a break!

He went into the conference room, "ducklings go home, there's nothing else you can do tonight and I need to think, I'll call you if I think of anything"

Chase, Taub and Foreman got up and left, they didn't need telling twice. But Masters hung around.

House sat in his chair for a while rubbing his thigh, then he pulled out his phone, he phoned the physio therapist that Cuddy had given him, he spoke to her for any suggestions she might have, she advised him on some exercises he could try, but she couldn't come out to him because she was out of town.

He made his way up to physio and tried doing the exercises that she had told him to do, but not even that was helping! But at least he could lean on the bars and take the weight off of his leg completely and no one else could see. _I don't need vicodin it will go away. _He stayed in the pt room for quite a while, but nothing was helping and he was getting desperate. _This has to stop I can't do this anymore I need something._

It was time to call in backup. He took out his phone "ok I'll meet you at mine in 20 minutes"

He went back down to his office, Masters was still sitting in the conference room. "Hey, Masters can you give me a ride home"

"You're going HOME! What about the patient?"

"I'll be back, but right now I need to go home and take care of some stuff, and right now I can't drive because of my leg"

"Oh ok"

House had been home for about 5mins when there was a knock at his door. He opened the door "Hi, House, long time no see, I thought your had deleted my number because your girlfriend didn't like me"

"Hi, Brandy, yeah I know, but I only want a massage, no sex and no happy ending – I'll pay you the same, your massages are about the only thing that can ease my pain"

"OK, lets have you then"

After about half an hour Houses leg pain was a little more under control, maybe down to an 8, a little more bearable, his head was definitely a little clearer aswell.

"Hey Brandy can you give me a lift back to the hospital"

"Yeah sure I'm going that way anyway"

She dropped him off at his parking spot where his bike was parked, he didn't want anyone to see him being dropped of in person or on the cctv.

As he got out of the elevator, Wilson came out of the stairway. "what was Brandy doing at the hospital, I hope you haven't been dipping.."

"No I haven't been dipping but I have just had a massage from her"

"Does Cuddy know you have gone slumming again"

"NO! I am not slumming, the pt that cuddy gave me, didn't work this time, it was either call Brandy or go score some drugs"

"You don't need drugs House, are you and Cuddy having problems again now"

"NO WILSON, my leg hurts today, ibuprofen wont' touch it, physio didn't help, before I got clean I would have taken a shot of morphine today because the pain is at a 10 and its not going away. If you had asked me 2hrs ago I would have asked you to chop it off! But I didn't take drugs, didn't get it chopped off I got Brandy to massage it and now I can walk again and maybe think clear enough to cure my patient"

With that he walked off to the conference room, he sat in front of the whiteboard going over and over the symptoms, something was missing. He got up and went to the patient's room, what were they missing? He sat in the patients room for a while watching him sleep, hoping for an epiphany because his patient really needed one, he was deteriorating rapidly.

A young woman came into the room, it wasn't the patients wife he had seen her earlier, she came in and held is hand. "Who are you" House said. "I am his-his girlfriend, we have been dating about a week before he got sick, I know he's married but they are having problems and I love him – I have for a long time, well from a distance at least"

"have you been coming here every night since he got here?"

"yes, I was told there are no restriction on visiting hours for your patients, so I come when everyone else has gone"

He sat a while, he noticed that she had a skin condition on her hands, then he got his epiphany. He called Masters first because he knew she would still be in the hospital somewhere.

"He needs, Plasma Phoresis, he's had an extreme allergic reaction to the meds his girlfriend uses, she's been coming every night after everyone else has gone which is why he is still getting worse"

By now it was Saturday morning, he hung around to see if the treatment worked. It did now he could go home. He had a call from Cuddy asking him to go over for dinner. As much as he wanted to see her and Rachel his leg was still hurting and he could do with sleeping in his bed tonight he hadn't been to sleep in his own bed for just over a week now. He called her back and accepted the invitation but did say he would be going home after.

He eventually left his office at about 5.30pm ish, he picked up his leather jacket and helmet, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ride his bike, but if he turned up in a cab Cuddy would get suspicious and he didn't want that.

He pulled up outside her house, he waited for a few minutes before he moved, he couldn't wait too long or she would come out to see where he was. He levied himself off of the bike and leaned again it again before he headed towards the door, he knew she would be watching him. Just as he got to the door it opened and Cuddy and Rachel were both standing waiting for him.

Cuddy had been watching him from the window, why was he taking so long, she watched him walk towards the house, she felt a huge waive of guilt as usual, but she didn't want him to see.

"Hi, you look tired" cuddy said tiptoeing to give him a kiss, taking his jacket and his helmet from him. "go sit down ill do you a drink, Rachel is just about to go to bed, but she wanted to see you first"

Cuddy went to the kitchen, Rachel promptly chucked herself at House, almost knocking him over. "Hows, will you read me a story"

"Yeah course squirt"

They headed toward her bedroom, they normally sat in the rocker, so he sat down and Rachel climbed upon his lap and as usual balanced herself with her right hand on his right thigh and he flinched and made a grunting noise, Rachel jumped "did I hurt you Hows, I always put my hand on your bad leg, is it hurting today?"

"Yes squirt it is, can we sit on your couch or on the floor"

"cors we can you bloody scallywag"

Once he had read to Rachel and put her to bed he made his way slowly to the bathroom, a little respite before he had dinner with Cuddy. As he closed the door she called out to say that dinner was ready, he was actually starting to feel sick, he didn't even know if he would be able to eat. He came out of the bathroom and went into the dinning room where Cuddy was already sitting, he sat down with her and managed to atleast eat some lasagne, would he be able to stand and do the dishes like he normally did.

They finished dinner and he sat back on the chair and closed his eyes for a minute, Cuddy noticed how tired he was and picked up the plates and went to the kitchen, House got up to follow but his leg gave way before he could get anywhere, luckily Cuddy didn't see, he sat back down, but he knew he couldn't stay there otherwise she would know something was wrong. So he got up again and went into the kitchen, he put his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "Why don't you go and sit on the couch, you can hardly stand up you're so tired" He nodded and headed for the couch.

He propped his legs up on the coffee table, he didn't take his shoes off first because he couldn't and he put his head back and closed his eyes, just for a minute. Cuddy came into the living room and promptly knocked his feet off of the coffee table "take your shoes off before you put them on my coffee table"

House almost let out a scream as his leg was pushed to the floor. He opened his eyes quickly and knew he had to go home now. He got up, got his jacket and said goodnight to Cuddy.

"House, what did I do, why are you leaving so abruptly?"

"I just need to go home before I fall asleep, I need to sleep in my own bed I told you"

He got outside on his bike and took off. He went the long way home, he needed to clear his head and riding his bike always did that to him.

Although it was only 9pm Cuddy decided to go to bed as soon as House had gone, she felt like had gone off the hump. As she lay in bed reading she heard Rachel call out so she got up to go check on her, she was having nightmares, so Cuddy let her sleep in her bed, she could do with the company anyway. As she snuggled down Rachel opened her eyes and Said "Why no Hows, was hiss booboo really sore"

"He didn't have a booboo honey, he was just really tired"

"No, he did have a booboo on his bad leg"

"what makes you say that, you sure he wasn't in your pirate nightmare"

"no he wasn't silly, when we read, we sat on the couch cos when I sat on his lap on the rocker he said ouch"

"you mean you sat on his bad leg – you should know better than that Rachel"

"NO, you silly, corse I didn't , when I sit on his lap I always put my hand on his bad leg to balance while we get comfy, but when I did it tonight he said it hurt too much, so we sat on the couch"

"You just rested your hand on his leg – show me Rachel"

"ok, momma" Rachel showed Cuddy how they normally sat and what had happened.

"You're sure that was it"

"Yes momma, when we moved he was fine"  
>"ok, honey, go back to sleep, I'm sure House is resting his booboo.<p>

House had made it home about an hour after he had left Cuddy, but he felt quite awake, so he sat at his piano, something he hadn't done for a long time. He played through a few songs, had a glass of bourbon now atleast he felt as if the pain had come down again to about a 5 now. Time for bed, he had a shower, rubbed some oil on his leg that Brandy had given him and went to bed at last ….

Cuddy felt an almighty pang of guilt, Rachel had barely touched his leg and it had hurt that much, then she herself had pushed his feet off of the table – why did she even do that, that must have really hurt him, no wonder he had left so quickly. But why didn't he tell her, she could have helped him, maybe she could have help the pain go away. But the pain never went away, so why did she never see it in him in pain, she seemed to forget that he was a cripple and that he did indeed suffer everyday – how come she could not see it. Maybe because he doesn't let her see, because he knows she feels guilty or is it because she will see him as vulnerable. For someone with a lot of brains she was really stupid. She must make more of an effort to actually see what's in front of her. She thought he was just tired, even her daughter knew he was in more pain than usual but she didn't. WHAT AN IDIOT!

Cuddy had not been able to sleep, she looked at the clock 12'o'clock, so she rung his phone, but in went onto answerphone. She started to panic, he had driven off on his motorcycle. What if he had been in an accident. So she tried again, it went onto answerphone again, so she left a message.

House could hear someone banging on his door, he looked at his clock 1.00am, who the hell was that. Then he picked up his phone, Cuddy had called him 6 times since 12'o'clock, now he knew who was at the door. He moved slowly so as to not irritate the leg anymore. The banging became stronger and Cuddy was calling his name. What the hell was going on – then he had a horrible thought, maybe there was something wrong with Rachel. He called out to her to say that he was coming, he didn't move very quickly cos his leg was always stiff when he woke up. He opened the door to find a rather distraught Cuddy "Whats the emergency – I was asleep you know, us cripples need our sleep"

"No emergency, I just had to make sure you were ok"

"Why wouldn't I be?, I'm always fine, you coming in or now that you've seen im ok are you going? Cos either way im going back to bed"

"House, why didn't you tell me how bad your pain was today?"

"Because it's not something I like to share. Its bad enough being in pain, but to let other people see it aswell – not for me and you always feel guilty whenever you see me in pain and I can't stand that. I would rather deal with in on my own".

"I'm so sorry House, I should've seen it. I often forget that you still suffer and I don't treat you like a cripple because you never seem like one to me, I don't notice your limp anymore, it s just part of you. I guess I don't want to see it because then it becomes reality. Even Rachel knew you were in more pain today, but I didn't. I just thought you were tired, I am really sorry. I rang you a few times, because when I realised how much pain you were probably in , I also realised that you went off on your bike and I got scared when you didn't answer, you rarely to bed before 12, so I panicked and came over here, I had to make sure you were ok"

By now they were sitting on the couch, she leant over to him and kissed him.

"Look I'm fine, the pain is back down to normal level, well more or less or it will be once I have slept in my own bed. No need for you to feel guilty, go home to Rachel and tell her I'm fine".

"Whats your pain level at now House?"

" 5 or 6"

"And that's gone down, what was it at today"

"10 easily"

"Oh House! Can you do me a favor"

"I'll try"

"Next time it gets this bad, let me in, you don't have to deal with it alone anymore, please don't run off on me again, I want to be there for you, I want to get through the bad pain days with you, together we might be able to stop it before it s this bad"

She looked at him, his head was bowed down looking at his feet, she couldn't see his face, so she pulled his head up, he looked at her "I love you House" and gave him a very gentle kiss.

"come on lets get you back to bed so that you can sleep"

She walked him back to his bedroom, making sure he had his arm around her shoulder for support, she could that it was still painful. "Can I ask you something"

"yeah sure"

"Before you got clean, what would you have done when you had days like this – did the vicodin work ?"

"No vicodin didn't wok on days like this and neither does ibuprofen, but I would have had a shot of morphine, but I didn't do that either"

"So how did you manage today then"

"Well I first tried the physio that you gave me, I did the exercises that she told me to do, but it didn't work. I called her again to see if she would come to me, but she was out of town. So I rang an emergency masseuse and she came here massaged my leg for half an hour it brought the pain down to about an 8 for a while, then I came to yours, went on a bike ride, played the piano had a couple of glasses of bourbon, had a shower and went to bed and was asleep until you banged on my door".

"you mean you had Brandy here"

"Yes, I did just for a massage, there was no sex and no happy ending"

"OK,I believe you, just tell me next time, maybe I could have massaged you instead. Now go to sleep, Rachel and I will come by tomorrow instead of you coming to us"

She tucked him in turned the light off and made her way through his apartment. How could she have forgotten how much pain he was always in. She wouldn't from now on, she wouldn't let him go through an more days like that on his own.

The End

_So did you find what was Missing ?_

_I have watched all seasons of House many times, but for me, in season 6 and 7 there were things that were missing and that I missed seeing:- No bad pain days, no Huddy bad pain days – wouldn't it have been nice to see her support him, No leather jacket (not gonna include the Zombie scene) No riding his bike, No whiteboard and Lastly the thing I missed most was that he didn't play his piano or guitar :( Just some of the things that make House House and I want them back xXx_


End file.
